RESEARCH ARTICLE
Sustainability in SMEs: The Role of Female Leadership, Organizational Ambidexterity, and Decent Work
Pedro Mota Veiga,
Susana Alves Pereira,
Rui Azevedo,
Maria Manuel Sá,
Pedro Mota Veiga
University of Maia, Maia, Portugal
NECE-UBI Research Center for Business Sciences, Covilhã, Portugal
LIACC – Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science Laboratory, Porto, Portugal
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Susana Alves Pereira
University of Maia, Maia, Portugal
NECE-UBI Research Center for Business Sciences, Covilhã, Portugal
Correspondence:
Susana Alves Pereira ([email protected])
Search for more papers by this authorRui Azevedo
University of Maia, Maia, Portugal
NECE-UBI Research Center for Business Sciences, Covilhã, Portugal
Centre ALGORITMI, University of Minho, School of Engineering, Guimarães, Portugal
Search for more papers by this authorMaria Manuel Sá
University of Maia, Maia, Portugal
NECE-UBI Research Center for Business Sciences, Covilhã, Portugal
Search for more papers by this authorPedro Mota Veiga,
Susana Alves Pereira,
Rui Azevedo,
Maria Manuel Sá,
Pedro Mota Veiga
University of Maia, Maia, Portugal
NECE-UBI Research Center for Business Sciences, Covilhã, Portugal
LIACC – Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science Laboratory, Porto, Portugal
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Susana Alves Pereira
University of Maia, Maia, Portugal
NECE-UBI Research Center for Business Sciences, Covilhã, Portugal
Correspondence:
Susana Alves Pereira ([email protected])
Search for more papers by this authorRui Azevedo
University of Maia, Maia, Portugal
NECE-UBI Research Center for Business Sciences, Covilhã, Portugal
Centre ALGORITMI, University of Minho, School of Engineering, Guimarães, Portugal
Search for more papers by this authorMaria Manuel Sá
University of Maia, Maia, Portugal
NECE-UBI Research Center for Business Sciences, Covilhã, Portugal
Search for more papers by this authorFirst published: 31 July 2025
Funding: This work was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, UIDB/04630/2020.
ABSTRACT
This study investigates how female leadership influences environmental sustainability practices, organizational ambidexterity, and decent work within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the European Union. Drawing on the resource-based view, dynamic capabilities, and stakeholder theory, the study explores both the direct and indirect pathways through which female leadership fosters sustainability-oriented organizational conditions. Using microdata from 7560 SMEs across 16 EU countries, collected through the 2019 World Bank Enterprise Survey, the analysis applies partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the relationships among key constructs. The results demonstrate that female leadership positively affects environmental sustainability outcomes, both directly and through its impact on ambidextrous capabilities and decent work practices. These findings highlight the strategic role of gender-diverse leadership in enabling SMEs to align internal resources with sustainability objectives. The study extends current literature by integrating established constructs into a unified empirical model and offers practical insights for policymakers and managers seeking to embed sustainability into core SME strategies.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Open Research
Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.
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